Unfinished
by mende5525
Summary: They have all passed on, all the original Titans dyeing bravely in battle except for one. As she waits for death an unexpected visitor arrives to settle some unfinished business.


A/N: I didn't expect to write a Teen Titans fanfiction after I deleted two of my stories from the website. but this story ended up coming out of no where so hopefully you all like it. Enjoy!

Summary: They have all passed on, all the original Titans dyeing bravely in battle except for one. As she waits for death an unexpected visitor arrives to settle some unfinished business.

* * *

They were all gone, all of them… her friends, her family, the very center of her world. Robin and Cyborg, her older brothers, protectors and confidants. Starfire, her beautiful, inspiring little sister; and Beastboy her optimist, tolerant, and understanding little brother.

She had grown up with them, learned from them, and loved them each differently and equally in their own ways. It was more than a half- human, half- demon deserved.

Yet as much as the pain of losing her loved ones hurt her deeply, it also didn't. Raven was a realist, she knew and accepted that one day they would all die and most likely in battle as all heroes do. She knew none of them had any regrets and all died honorably.

To feel bad for them would almost be insulting to their memory.

Time had made them all the wiser and stronger; unfortunately the villains had also shaped up and had proven themselves dangerous opponents.

They had been assisting the Justice League in a massive takeover of the world. Many heroes had fallen in battle. Raven was in critical condition to the point where her healing abilities could not help her. Her doctors did everything they could to help her injuries but her body wasn't responding positively to the treatments. Finally the doctor told her that her organs were all failing and she only had a few hours left to live.

To this news Raven felt great relief, for many different reasons.

One: it meant her soul-self could finally be free over the influences of her body and demon blood. Two: If such a heaven did exist it meant she could be with the souls of her friends, she couldn't imagine a life or afterlife without them. Three: she would never have to see **his** face again.

For all his cruelty and all his games, Slade never once physically appeared in their lives again after the invasion of Trigon. There was the occasional robot, the occasional taunting, and the occasional threats.

All of it affected them differently, but none as deeply as Raven.

Robin obsessed, Beastboy vented, and Cyborg and Starfire worried.

Raven however despaired and lamented every second of it. She constantly dreamed of his face, his actions, and his violations. It made her violently ill knowing that he knew her.

He knew details of her souls, her mind, even worse… her body. Things she never once showed to any of her friends, even as open as they tried to be with her, there were so many things she left a mystery to them.

Slade knew it all, without any of her permission, without any of her consent. Raven felt raped in every sense of the word and every mention or hint of Slade made her relive every moment of his transgressions.

When he came back from the dead with demon powers Raven had first felt fear. Hell had always tried dragging her into its pit and Slade was the Reaper.

The way he spoke to her was eerie and damning, and his touch was like being bitten by a venomous monster.

When her powers enabled her to stop time she had to free Robin for one simple purpose, she was terrified. She didn't want to be alone with him. The way he could make her feel helpless just by walking close to her and telling her what she already knew… was unreal.

She had never felt more victimized than the moment her started chasing her down. No… stalking her down.

It wasn't just about sending a message; Slade had turned his own personal attention on her and relished every second he got to add on extra pain and torture.

He burned all of his fury into her skin and enjoyed watching her clothes shred apart as her father's symbols sparked and bled. Raven could still remember his euphoria over her immodesty and it made her feel disgusting.

It made her feel lower than dirt as he held her to his back and secured her before her fate and allowed her to scream out in helplessness, letting her go unconscious and then letting her drop from a building.

If there was ever one man she could kill without remorse it would be him. She had imagined it many times in her head, relished it, even got off on it, and she hated herself for it.

She had let herself be afraid of him, she had let herself be overly violent with him, and in the end succumb to his demands and let him take her to her father to die. Plain and simple she had been weak for him.

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes tightly waiting eagerly for death now.

"Reminiscing are we?"

Raven's eyes shot open well aware of who it was standing before her. His voice was unmistakable and she made him out in the darkness. She hadn't even realized that night had fallen in all her daydreaming.

A dark hospital room seemed more depressing now than it had earlier. She wondered how it was going on the battle lines while she laid here waiting for death and staring down her greatest enemy.

"If you care to know, your friends are winning the battle," said Slade answering her question. He took a seat next to her bed. Nothing had changed.

His appearance was entirely the same, his posture, his demeanor. The mask and the one lone eye staring down at her. However there was one slight difference that made Raven feel at ease made it easy to relax despite the fact that he had once tried to kill her and sell her soul to the devil for his own selfish reasons.

Being an empath had its advantages and right now Slade's emotions read for longing. He came here seeking something from Raven, something not meant to harm her.

Raven wasn't a mind reader though, and as much as she hated his presence, her curiosity was stronger than her hatred.

She licked her lips and spoke in a croaked and tried voice. "I'm surprised you weren't part of the takeover. I would've thought for sure you'd jump at the chance to finally defeat us."

Slade gave an indifferent shrug. "Different times my dear. I don't care to see your demise as strongly as you think."

Raven scoffed. "Why are you here then?"

Slade hesitated at the question and looked out the window to the pitch black sky.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to know every bit of personal history to a person's life?"

Raven felt a lump in her throat and her eyes go watery. She didn't want this to be her last memory. She didn't want him here.

Slade rolled his fist up. "Especially when that person is someone you swore to be rid of in order to get back something that was taken away from you," his voice turned angry which in turn only made Raven angrier.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who still obsessed over those days. He was trying to blame her for the deal he made with Trigon, the lousy deal which only ended up with him being double-crossed.

She shook her head in disgust. "You died, everyone dies, and you should've just stayed dead instead of being a fool."

Slade rose up and struck the wall just above her head. Raven became fully aware that he was standing above her helpless body. It made her blood run rampant.

She narrowed his eyes on him determined not to fall again. "You can't hurt me anymore Slade, there's nothing you can do me."

Slade leaned in closer to her and laughed evilly. Chills ran down Raven's spine. "Oh my little bird, you don't get it, I'm the one constantly plagued by the memories and secrets of your life."

She gawked at him as he continued to rant. "Do you think it's easy for me to know you personally, to know every pain you endured as a child, to having the kind of father you do and the disgusting love you feel for your dead family."

If she had had any energy left Raven would've summoned her powers and smashed him into the wall.

"Do not bring them into this!" Raven yelled into Slade's face. "They died for something good, for something worthy. What the hell do you have to show for your life Slade? You have not right calling yourself the victim."

Raven hadn't realized that in all her fury she had been moving too much, her chest throbbed in pain since her heart was so weak, and her kidneys sent out a sharp jolt of pain since they were also failing and Raven let out a gasp of agony at the end of her sentence.

Slade stopped hovering over her and upped her morphine intake which immediately made Raven feel relief. She was shocked he even thought to decrease her pain.

She had tears flowing down her eyes. She really hated her body now, tears were just another sign of weakness. "What you have done to me I could never forget or forgive, no matter what kind of nightmares you've endured in return."

Slade rolled his eyes and returned to his seat. "Still bitter are we? You knew one day it would happen, you knew Trigon would come to this world and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You can't blame me for that Raven."

She flinched at the way he said her name. Then something else happened, she finally knew why she couldn't let it rest, she finally knew why he had been the main source of pain in her life. It was so obvious she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before.

"You ruined me." The sorrow in her voice made Slade catch her eyes and drew him in closer than he thought already possible as she unveiled more of herself to him.

"Yes I knew of my destiny to be my father's portal, to be the daughter of a devil and to be the gem of destruction." Raven started crying freely now. "But I never knew that I could be loved so much by four amazing people, I never knew that people like you would try to kill them, I never knew you would hunt and chase me down."

Slade continued to look at her intensely. "All part of the job."

Raven shook her head sadly. "You tortured me. Any way you justify it, you tortured and raped me of everything I had built and worked so hard for.'

Slade glared at her. "A hero's title."

Raven glared back at him "A family, a chance to be more than my prophecy. I can die happy knowing I achieved that, but you are a scar on my life and the one thing I cannot seem to escape in this life." She scoffed and wiped some tears away. "To think I'd be forever running from my father and instead I'm running away from a mere mortal man."

"I'm flattered," said Slade emotionlessly. "Though the situation is a double edge sword. Why do you think I've been taunting you and your friends all these years?"Raven looked at him curiously. "It's odd, after your father's demise I no longer had a strong desire to be rid of you kids, nor to even be near you; but at the same time the thought of you forgetting me seemed… unbearable."

She suddenly felt awkward, as though she must've misheard him. Forget him? How could anyone forget Slade with all the hell he had put them through?

But what made his statement even more unusual was the fact that he cared so much for what she remembered and thought of him.

"You did all that small stupid stuff just so I wouldn't forget you? I couldn't even move on from you Slade!"Her saying his name out loud made him even more alert. "The one thing I had hoped for was to never physically see you again in my living life and I couldn't even get that."

This seemed to make Slade satisfied. "I always wondered when you would finally die; to be honest I didn't think it'd be so young."

Raven gave a weak half smile. "I don't feel young, I don't think I ever have."

Slade sneered at her. "You're dyeing too soon to know what being young even means. You were born an old soul Raven. Even you can't deny the fact that you've missed out on some things.'

That was something she couldn't argue with, she had missed out on some things. It was mostly her fault; she always put things off for too long. She never got a chance to explore the world outside of being a hero, never got a chance to write her own stories, never had a real childhood, never fell in love.

She still didn't regret it though; then again you can't miss what you never had.

They sat there for a while longer in silence.

She could feel hesitation from him, as though he were weighing what to say next. She never knew him to be less than sure of himself, for him to be this uncertain was something new.

"It could be different."

Her ears perked up and she felt her skin tingle, surely he didn't mean…

"It's impossible," she said flatly.

Slade stretched slightly and finally said what he had been holding back. "I learned a few things being amongst the dead, such as how to bring someone back from the brink of death."

She felt her heart beat hard.

"If you asked I could let you have more years, I remember the spells and the chants."

He was serious. He was sitting here offering to save her life, a life he had once believed less than valuable. She had known of such spells but never bothered to look into them, when people die, it was there time to die plain and simple.

She swallowed and asked, "Why? Why would you do that for me Slade and not my friends?"

He grimaced. "They hardly matter to me, in death it changes nothing in the way I lived. You however changed everything, perhaps having you alive longer I can reclaim my old life."

He was keeping her around for a means of security, that perhaps her life would somehow fix his own which had been distorted ever since his encounter with hell.

In return he was offering her more years, but what else could she gain in those years if he was the main focus in her life? Would he fix her or further damage her, would either one of them receive the closure they both sought.

Raven laughed ironically, "It's strange how my friends meant so little to you and yet they meant everything to me. How you wish me to mean something to the rest of your existence and how I want nothing more to do with yours."

She felt disappointment roll off him.

"As much as your offer tempts my body, my soul has to say no. I could never do that to my friends."

Slade sighed "What? Live on without them?"

Raven smiled condescendingly at him. "Live on for you… and with you."

He suddenly stood up leave. It was the last of his words for her, he wouldn't have even given her so much as a goodbye if she hadn't have called out to him again.

"I won't accept your offer but… could I ask you for something else?"

He turned back to her curiously.

Now it was her turn to hesitate. "Something I've always wondered about… I know so much of you and still nothing at all."

"You of all people should know the benefits of keeping secrets," he replied worried by what she was about to ask him.

She scoffed at him. "It's not fair that you know all of mine."

"Life isn't fair," he shot back.

She gritted her teeth considering giving up, but she was determined to gain one thing from his visit, for all his trouble.

"The mask," she said cautiously. She noticed him flinch slightly. "I want to know what your face really looks like."

He was getting ready to evade the situation all together and accept that she would die leaving her history with him alone, and her knowing nothing of him.

For all the things she could ask him, why would she ask for this?

"Why? So you can give the police a detailed description right after I leave?" It was a lousy excuse, he always hid out even with the mask off, very few knew what he actually looked like.

She only shook her head patiently. "It's just something I need to know. Who and what you are is the mask you wear, I want to see the true face of the one who's haunted me all these years. I need to see something more real, more human, maybe for me that would be enough to make up for it all."

To say no to her would be great revenge for her rejecting his offer earlier. Yet the sincerity and slight desperation in her voice made it hard for him.

He had come here hoping to get her to stay among the living and maybe get back whatever it was she had stolen from him, yet she was right… He had more than she did. He had stolen more, he had forced his way into her life, tried to rid her from his mind, and was now paying the price.

What she was asking for was only fair.

He didn't consider himself a fair man but he did consider himself a man who owned up to his faults. His biggest fault had been accepting a deal with the devil, 'cause now the devils daughter would forever haunt him.

He moved closer to her bed and quickly removed his mask as though her were tearing off a bandage.

She nearly gasped at the sight. It wasn't exactly what she thought it would be, and yet it didn't surprise her either.

For one she hadn't expected him to be older, much older. He was probably in his late fifties; he wore the wrinkles and grey hairs well. She was also surprised by the eye-patch. They had all suspected that his other eye was useless, but Raven always pictured it as simply missing as opposed to permanently damaged.

What also surprised her was that he was actually handsome. Had it not been for his reputation, anyone could easily mistake him as charming even trustworthy.

But overall the moment of revilement put Raven at ease in a way she had never experienced before, and she almost wanted to thank him.

Finally he wasn't just a mask, she finally had a face to put in front of all her nightmares and it made them less terrifying.

"Satisfied," he asked feeling beyond his limits. Such a simple request and she had finally made him weak before her and she was finally the stronger one.

She only nodded showing no emotion, but Slade could already sense that she was content.

She stared at him a little longer before wincing in pain. The last stages of her organs were fully giving out. He solemnly reached over to her morphine intake and continued to increase it until her body went completely still and her eyes started to glaze over.

"What are you doing?" she asked fighting to stay awake.

He pursed his lips together and watched as she started slipping away.

"I'm putting you into a sedative slumber. You'll die in your sleep and feel no pain." He started moving away not bothering to put his mask back on.

She watched him tiredly and felt a slight euphoria from the medication and could already feel her soul getting ready to pull away.

"You did it," she called out feeling triumphant. "You got everything you've ever wanted." He got to see the end of the Titans and now maybe he could move on with his life. Her body fell into the dark solitude of sleep and her soul moved on and onto a different plane.

Her soul moved without difficulty, without regret, and without feeling the pull as though it had left something unfinished on earth. It was finally free.

Slade watched as she died and whispered. "No I didn't." For him the situation and the feelings he had for her would always be unfinished.


End file.
